"This secret realm is so vast, I never thought we'd encounter you here."
Nangong Ling narrowed his eyes, studying Qin Yang. Wei Yu and the numerous henchmen beside him wore equally hostile expressions.
"What? Are you also here to chase me down?" Qin Yang's gaze turned frosty.
Had he not dodged that arrow in time, it would have pierced his heart!
"Against my archery skills, you only received a scratch. Impressive!" Nangong Ling said quietly.
The two sides maintained a distance of about thirty paces. Nangong Ling showed no intention of closing the gap, clearly remembering Qin Yang's earlier warning - within ten steps, fists move faster!
"Eight Divine Clans' Ultimate Kill Order. Do you think this is a joke? As descendants of the Eight Divine Clans, isn't it our duty to hunt you down?" Wei Yu kept his eyes fixed on Qin Yang, sensing the man was more dangerous now than when they first encountered him.
"Qin Yang, you might as well accept your death!"
"Exactly! Why hide when you could have died cleanly by that arrow? Wouldn't that have been easier?"
The henchmen burst into laughter.
"Your head would make the perfect wedding gift for Qin Wuyi and Lou Mengyu. No other gift could possibly be more valuable than this!"
Qin Yang's cold gaze swept over the crowd before he smiled. "Want my head? You'll need the strength to take it. Instead of properly completing the demon hunting assessment in Qin River Forest, you all came to Mount Qin and this secret realm to throw yourselves to the wolves. Is this what they call 'volunteering for execution'?"
At the mention of the assessment, Nangong Ling's face twisted with anger. "Hmph, I'm dying to expose your cheating methods. If you dared cheat on the Celestial Academy's entrance exam, killing you would just prevent this rat from spoiling the entire pot of porridge."
"Pot of porridge?" Qin Yang retorted. "If you lot got into Celestial Academy, it'd turn into a pot of paste! Your brains are already half-paste anyway! The Celestial Token only records points for actual demon kills. How could I possibly fake those?"
Qin Yang found this absurd. Why did everyone assume he was cheating?
"You think you can compete with the Nangong Clan in demon hunting speed? You think my Nine Feather Arrows are made of straw?" Nangong Ling sneered. "With your skills? Even if demons lined up for you to kill, could you manage it?"
So the sudden spike in my scores caused all this suspicion, Qin Yang realized.
But the academy hadn't forbidden using the Hundred Fragrance Lure. Besides, it wasn't his anyway—it was Qin Lie's, who'd used it to try killing him.
Facing so many demonic beasts, what else could they do but kill them? Were they supposed to play with them instead?
"Nine Arrows of Wonder? How laughable! Your family's secret art is the Ten Arrows of Wonder. You don't even know this basic fact, yet you dare to brag about your archery skills?" Qin Yang sneered.
Wei Yu and the others looked puzzled, but Nangong Ling's entire body trembled.
"You... how do you know there's a tenth arrow in the Shocking Feather Arrow Technique?" Nangong Ling's eyes widened. The words had barely left his mouth when he hastily corrected himself: "Nonsense! The Shocking Feather Arrow Technique only has nine arrows!"
Wei Yu stared at Nangong Ling in disbelief. "Is this guy telling the truth?"
The other disciples were equally bewildered. They had followed Nangong Ling all this time; how could Qin Yang know something they didn't?
"Don't ask how I know, just know that I do!" Qin Yang laughed heartily.
Whoosh! A killing intent surged in Nangong Ling's heart as he loosed an arrow.
Qin Yang formed a finger seal. "Shocking Sword Finger!" He caught Nangong Ling's arrow mid-flight, pinching it between his fingers.
"Damn it!" Qin Yang's face darkened. In his attempt to show off, he'd forgotten his grievous injuries! Though he'd caught the arrow, the sudden exertion caused his suppressed wounds to flood forth like a breached dam. A wave of heat flushed his face.
Blood trickled from the corner of Qin Yang's mouth. He hastily licked it away.
This motion was misinterpreted as provocation—blatant provocation!
"He's mocking Nangong Ling! Using his fingers to catch arrows and licking his tongue? Does he find this amusing?"
"Such mockery is utterly infuriating!"
Nangong Ling's pupils contracted, his killing intent intensifying. Could Qin Yang truly be this powerful? How could his fingers possibly catch his arrows?
The tenth arrow of the Shocking Feather Arrow Technique was a closely guarded secret of the Nangong Clan. Few knew of its existence. If the Eight Divine Clans or other powerful forces on the Celestial Continent discovered it, the Nangong Clan's incomplete mastery of this technique would become the continent's greatest mockery!
"You shot me twice, so I'll return one arrow first!" Qin Yang drew the Dragon Song Bow, nocking the arrow he'd caught between his fingers.
A dragon's roar echoed as the arrow launched.
Time seemed to warp, creating a disorienting sensation.
Nangong Ling, overwhelmed with shock, murmured, "The third arrow of the Shocking Feather Arrow Technique... It's actually our Nangong Clan's technique!"
Despite being an expert archer, he couldn't even track Qin Yang's arrow trajectory!
"His bow's malfunctioning!" In a split second, Nangong Ling relied on his knowledge of the Shocking Feather Arrow Technique to dodge.
At this distance, he was confident he could evade!
"Ah!" Nangong Ling cried out in pain, a horrifying wound appearing on his arm, revealing the stark white bone beneath.
No one, including Wei Yu, could react in time. Qin Yang's archery skills were actually superior to Nangong Ling's?
"Considering we've crossed paths, I'll spare your lives this time. But next time we meet, don't blame me for showing no mercy." Qin Yang's voice was cold as he turned to leave.
He hadn't taken more than a few steps when he clutched his mouth, blood seeping from his lips.
"The Explosive Punch's power is truly extraordinary. If not for the cold ice energy, even if my body hadn't been reduced to minced meat, I still wouldn't have survived!"
Qin Yang felt as if his body had been pieced together like a shattered porcelain doll with glue, ready to fall apart at any moment.
Earlier, he had blocked an arrow with his Shocking Sword Finger and then fired another shot - this had already pushed him beyond his limits.
But that arrow had to be fired! He needed to deter Nangong Ling and the others! Otherwise, they would never let the matter rest.
Qin Yang forced himself to quicken his pace, swiftly departing.
In the name of our shared destiny? What kind of bullshit excuse is that? Wei Yu couldn't comprehend it. In such circumstances, anyone would face an inevitable battle—a fight to the death. Yet Qin Yang had simply walked away?
The arrow's earlier might would have meant certain conflict if it had struck anyone else, including Wei Yu himself.
But this arrow had found its mark in Nangong Ling, altering the entire situation.
"How are you?" Wei Yu checked Nangong Ling's injuries.
Nangong Ling remained silent, now understanding why Gongsun Ming and Lou Mengyu had immediately accepted the Qin Family's execution order.
They'd long been in contact with Qin Yang, fully aware of the lethal threat he posed!
"He... must die," Nangong Ling murmured.
"Boss, there's blood here!" a subordinate pointed at where Qin Yang had stood moments before.
The group rushed over to investigate. Wei Yu's eyes lit up as he realized, "I get it now! He didn't spare us—he's too badly injured to fight anymore!"
Examining the bloodstains, they realized it wasn't from Nangong Ling's earlier arrow. That arrow had merely grazed Qin Yang's arm, leaving only a superficial wound that couldn't possibly bleed so profusely.
"Follow! We can't let him escape!" Nangong Ling had initially intended to report Qin Yang's movements to the Qin Family, genuinely astonished by his archery skills. In these mountain forests, he knew all too well what such mastery implied.
But now, with Qin Yang grievously wounded, how could he possibly pass up this perfect opportunity?
As the group gradually departed, the Jadeblood Mantis reappeared. It stared at the bloodstains on the ground, clearly unsatisfied.
"Damn humans! Why aren't you attacking? I need to heal quickly and escape this secret realm..."
The Jadeblood Mantis seethed with resentment. Within the secret realm, all precious materials and treasures were guarded by powerful demonic beasts. To recover swiftly, its only option was to consume humans.
Yet the Qin Family's contracted beasts were still pursuing it. A rash attack on the Qin Family members would inevitably summon the Silver-backed Great Peng...
"This secret realm's time is running out... I'm running out of time!"